1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an image formation apparatus that promotes the recovery of consumables contained therein for recycling purposes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, almost all consumables or products that became unusable or no longer needed have been discarded as trash. But today, with the growing interest in environmental protection, the trend towards recycling of used resources has developed, the emphasis being on how to deal properly with toxic materials contained in the consumables with a view to minimizing environmental pollution.
Amid the growing public demand for recovering and recycling products and consumables, some users have started sending them back to their manufacturers, the shipping expenses paid either by the users or by agents of the manufacturers. The heightened attention paid to the responsibility of those who supply industrial goods has prompted some manufacturers to minimize the toxic materials going into their products. Some manufacturers have started recovering, free of charge, their products or the consumables contained therein for recycling purposes.
However, most of today's schemes for waste product recovery are slow to receive widespread acceptance because they are too costly for users to implement. Another problem with the recycling schemes is that even where manufacturers have set up recycling channels, the cost involved is too high or most users are unaware of such channels and go on discarding the used products.